Grammy hopes

A song written by third-graders at Sonora Elementary School in Costa Mesa is part of an album that was just nominated for a Grammy Award in the category "Best Music Album for Children."

The song, track No. 4 on folk music duo Trout Fishing in America’s latest release “Big Round World,” was the idea of 9-year-olds Bryan Segovia and David Gonzalez. It’s called “Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks,” and it’s about the struggles of the two civil rights leaders in fighting for racial equality.

“They wouldn’t let other people get in their way,” Segovia said.

Trout Fishing in America came to the school last school year to work on music with Marjie White’s third-grade class as part of an educational program sponsored by the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

The charismatic duo, composed of bassist Keith Grimwood and guitarist Ezra Idlet, wrote the song with the kids and performed it with a group of them on stage in front their assembled peers in the auditorium back in September.

White found out about the nomination on Friday afternoon.

“That’s really sweet for the kids. They were really thrilled with the whole experience,” she said.

The kids were ecstatic when they heard the news. They speculated about what they would do if the album containing their song won the prestigious American music award.

“I would be so excited that I would jump up and down,” said Emily Olvera, 9.

“I would be crying,” added Brittany Ka, 9.

Although they are credited with the inspiration for the song, Segovia and Gonzalez aren’t really considering careers in music.

Some of the other kids involved do have their eyes on jobs in entertainment. Ka and her friend Vanessa Maciel, 9, say they love singing and dancing and want to make a career of it.

“We’re in the talent show every year,” Maciel said.

The kids will have to wait until February to find out how their Grammy hopes turn out. All of them said they would tune in to watch the award show.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.